HUDF as you’ve never experienced it before

Have you heard about the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field? Either way, you’ve likely not heard about it like this.

If you’re viewing on a desktop, run your mouse cursor over the image below and listen! Unfortunately tablet and mobile devices aren’t supported.

The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (HUDF) was created in 2003-2004 with the Hubble Space Telescope staring for a long time toward near-empty space so that distant, faint galaxies would become visible. One of the most famous images in astronomy, the HUDF is featured here in a vibrant way – with sonified distances.

Pointing to a galaxy will play a note that indicates its approximate redshift. Because redshifts shift light toward the red end of the spectrum of light, they are depicted here by a shift of tone toward the low end of the spectrum of sound. The further the galaxy, the greater its cosmological redshift (even if it appears blue), and the lower the tone that will be played. The average galaxy in the HUDF is about 10.6 billion light-years away and sounds like an F#.

Credits

Deep Field is a celebration of STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art and design, and math).

We’ve created some fun challenges inspired by STEAM so you can learn more about anything from Fibonacci to Flying Machines, Music to Math or Singing to Spiral Galaxies. Can you master the challenges and collect all the badges?

Keep a look out for badges across the site or tap one of the hexagons to get started.